Don’t Give Up, You’ve Got This!

So you finally made it! You’ve done your big chop or have grown out your chemically straightened ends…You’re a natural now!

Congrats!

*Insert Your Version Of The Happy Dance*

From time to time, I hear people voice their frustrations with their new texture and that they are thinking of giving up so easily. I always find that intriguing, as I don’t understand how people can be so excited about their new journey and then a couple of weeks later, just give up. I guess that can be applied to anything we become excited over that is relatively new and then once we see it isn’t as easy as we thought it was going to be, there is that feeling of wanting to let go of that particular thing. As a hair stylist, it is easy for me to advise people to keep with their natural hair journey, as I have a good grasp on hair styling, so I will try not to sound condescending. Making the change to natural hair is a commitment and I don’t think many see it that way. It is like marriage, without all the legalities! I end up hearing people say, “Oh, I was natural for a few months and then I decided to relax my hair again”– what now? In those cases, the hair wasn’t even given time to flourish, to reach its full potential, which are beautiful curls and kinks. It’s odd that someone could have been wearing their hair chemically straightened for so many years and then only give their natural hair texture a few months. Everyone’s hair grows at different speeds, so I would suggest giving your hair a minimum of 2-3 years growth to experience what life can be like with natural hair.

If you have curls or kinks in your hair, it doesn’t matter what ethnic background you come from, you will have to invest more time and product into your hair—plain and simple! It is what it is, so just get over that and keep breathing. Hopefully, by this point you are still reading and haven’t started to roll your eyes as yet. With curls and kinks, you need a routine, which I spoke to in my last post. You also need to know some styling basics, which are braids, twists, flat twists, and Bantu knots—Bantu knots are my favourite. There are other styling aids that can make styling easier for you, if you haven’t got the basics down yet or if you want to add variety to your styling arsenal, you can use curlers, flexi-rods, perm-rods, curl formers, etc. There is a lot of information out there, so you can always talk to your local natural hair stylist about options for your hair. You can also speak to other natural hair enthusiasts about what to do also—many of them can be found on YouTube. Please, please, please do remember to check in with a hair stylist though from time to time, as it is our job to assist you with your new texture and offer advice.